Editor’s Note: Families facing a rare disease diagnosis often do not know where to turn first in their search for the most advanced treatments and potentially a cure for their children. Only 5 percent of rare diseases have a treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders. This is due in part to the lack of high quality biospecimens for research.

Cancer genetics and collaboration were big themes in this week’s news featuring research at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Check out our weekly summary of some of the developments this first week of February.